Yet another roof motor failure??

F

Fieldy

Member
Hi guys,

I'm fairly sure I've got the dreaded roof motor failure but just wanted to check if there was anything else that could cause a roof issue.

I thought I'd lubricate the hinges of the soft top today. I lowered the roof halfway and then fully before applying a couple of drops of 3in1 oil to the hinges that were easily visible. I then pressed the button to raise the roof and it came up very slowly and just about made the top to enable the latches to lock in. Now if I press the lowering button the latches unlock, the windows lower but then nothing happens. I can hear a faint clicking noise from the passenger side of the cabin when I press the button if that gives any info.

Surely it isn't linked to the oil I applied? The roof was working fine yesterday.

I did give the roof a good clean and protect with the autoglym kit a week ago. Maybe all the water I used to clean the roof drowned the motor?
 
You may well be right. Have you ever cleared the drain holes, especially on the passenger side ?

The important thing with these roofs is also to keep them moving. If you dont operate them from September to March you cant really be surprised when the are seized come Spring. I cycle my roof eveytime I drive it, regardless of the weather.
 
Yeah I hadn't operated the roof very often in the last few months I must admit. Regretting it now!

I do periodically check that water is coming from the drainage 'area' under the car but haven't had a thorough look at the drainage channels before if I'm honest.

From what I've seen on here before you have to remove the rear wheel to get to the drainage channels??
 
Nope - don't need to remove wheels to inspect/clear the drain holes. Jacking helps though. Plenty of pics on the web as to the location of the outlets. Remove the rubber plugs at the bottom and either use a wetvac with an attachment to suck any gunk out, or carefully thread something up the drain tube to dislodge any detritus. Or there's a guide that shows how to flush water from above using a bottle of water and some small tubing.
I suspect if you left the motor without using it for a few months, and it has water in/around it, it may have seized. You can probably rescue it with some WD40, but you'll need to get it out to do this (fun...). There are also a couple of guides on relocating it to the boot if you don't want to remove the roof to get to it, or there are one or two members who will do it for you for a reasonable fee.
Good luck.
Edit - I just re-read your first post and you mentioned the roof was working only a day or so ago, so it hasn't seized from lack of use (but could have been on the way out anyway?)
 
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